Rivers of living will flow

Living water will flow!

This is my first attempt at painting water rings and droplets. 

Water is critical for life. Here are a few quick stats I found.

55% to 75% of the body is made of water.

Water is a shock absorber for the brain, spinal column, and unborn baby in the womb. 

Water flushes waste out of us.

Water enables growth to occur at the cellular level. 

It is estimated that 71% of the earth's surface is covered with water.

It is estimated that 96% of the earth's water supply is in the oceans.

Water is the fundamental component of every living creature. 

Water gives life.

Water sustains life.

Without water we die with in days.

Spiritually we need life giving water, too. It only makes sense that the One who created heaven and earth would be the One who will give living water.

Jesus once said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Does anyone believe in me? Then, just as Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from inside them.” (John 7:37-38)

We can have "rivers of living water flow from us" when we believe in the One who is the River of Life. 

Life giving water that quenches our thirst. 

I was trying to convey in this image how the life giving water has a ripple affect even if it is in just one little drop. 

I have to giggle because I just realized as I look at the image the water of life is smiling back at me. 

Father, Thank You for the gift of water and it's life sustaining power. Thank You for Your Son who gives living water that quenches our thirst. Help us to believe in Your life giving water and to give it freely. Let the ripple affect of Your sustenance bring life to all who receive it. In Jesus' name, amen.

What to do in relationships based on Matthew 7

I was listening to a podcast this week on Ask, Seek, and Knock by Dr. Tim Mackey with the Bible Project. He said that we should read Matthew 7 focusing on relationships when we ponder what we should ask for. 

Then as God would have it, I read this chapter this morning in my routine. 

So, I decided to read it with the focus of how to be in good relationships. This is the list of good helps that God showed me.

In relationships...

1. Do not judge.

2. Focus on fixing yourself not others.

3. Stay away from those that devour others or trample on people. 

4. Persistently seek God for wisdom.

5. You will know people by their good or bad character. Watch for it.

6. Do the will of God.

7. Listen to the Word of God and put it into practice. 

This is when we will be known as a person of authority.

Okay, so when we just don't know or we feel confused. We should persistently pray.

O Father, Help me not to judge. Please forgive me for judging. LORD, show me what I need to do, change, or let go. Please guard me from those that devour and trample on others and help me with this person that makes me feel devoured and trampled on. Please, guard me from being the person who tramples on or devours others. I beg you for wisdom in this situation.  Show me their character and the best way to respond.  Father, I do want to do Your will but I don't know how. Please guide me. Show me how to love, forgive, serve, walk, and guide others in all truth. In Jesus' name, amen.

A Thousand Touches with Watercolor

Have you ever done something for a thousand touches? 

It sounds so impossible. The first time I heard someone use this phrase was on the soccer field by my friend Tanya Franck Benning as she coached the women's soccer team at Grace University. I Googled the concept and I found out it is a challenge often given to athletes to do practice makes perfect or do this and you will awaken the involuntary responses needed so you no longer need to think about what you are doing. This is when you will play instinctively.

Tomorrow is my one year anniversary of starting to learn how to watercolor paint with Alice Swartz. She brought all her supplies so we could play. I mean paint.

I am definitely over a thousand touches. I try as best I can to watercolor if we sit down to watch TV. This way I am creating and learning while listening. 

When I look at what I created in the beginning and gave away, I laugh because people are so kind. Your encouragement all along has been so kind.

I discovered that the process of painting several nights a week became a time of rest and worship. But the actual process of learning wasn't easy. I kept creating even when what I saw in my mind's eye did not match what I created. 

I watched how others painted before going to sleep or looked at others paintings. At first it was easier to look at someone else's work, but more and more I found I am jealous for creating my own design. I want to create from my heart and vision not someone elses.

One day Grant Rye said to me, "In the art world, master artists will hire apprentices to paint copies of their original to sell. They are master copiers." I have no idea if he was trying to teach me a lesson, but as much as possible from that point on I started choosing images where I would take shapes, colors, and composites of photos so I could try to create on my own. 

It has been an incredible journey. God used this to bless me, encourage me, and challenge my mind. It has been hard trying to learn how to master shapes, color theory, and depth. I still don't get how to do these most of the time, but I keep pressing in.

The most important thing I realized. When I create something, it is my interpretation of what I see and I am able to do in that moment. This is good! Why? Because I am trying! I am creating! I am growing! And yes, a thousand touches works. I am improving. 

I also discovered that for art your supplies really matter. It was a powerful game changer when I had good paper, good paints, and the right brush. Oh my! 

I want 10,000 touches! Why? Because our God is a creative God and I want to see how HE might create through me. 

How about you? What have you given a thousand touches to?

Character and Consistency

Have you ever noticed that consistency and character are always revealed?  This can be seen for both the good and the bad. Whatever we do consistently it will reveal our core character. It can build trust or break trust. Our patterns whether big or small over time reveal so much.

This morning as I read Daniel 6, I am in awe because Daniel's character in his 80's was so consistent that the leaders couldn't find anything wrong with him. So they plotted to trap him. Does this sound familiar? It should since it is what the religious leaders did to Jesus.

At this point, you would think they would have caught onto Daniel's God's character as well. He consistently rescued and elevated Daniel as an exile in Babylon and when Persia took over. But one of their consistent patterns was not seeing God's work or believing. 

Both Daniel and His God were consistent in their character. It was observable that they were both faithful and trustworthy.

AND the government leaders were also consistent in their character. It was evident that they were jealous and power hungry. They liked to scheme and plot no matter who they deceived as long as they got what they wanted. Ugh. I have known a few of those in my life. 

It is so important we slow down, listen, and look at the motives behind the activity. It is also important to watch for what is revealed consistently in a person's behavior over time. Patterns reveal so much. Everyone has a one off moment where they can mess up, but patterns are a revelation of a core character trait. 

I find myself asking, "What is revealed by my character consistently over time to others?"

I also find myself praying, "LORD, give me the awareness of character and to watch for consistent patterns so that I can wisely navigate life for Your glory. In Jesus, Name, amen."

I promise it works. Watch for the consistent character patterns. This will help you know when to say, "yes" and when to say, "no."

Shalom y'all!

BY FAITH...

BY FAITH...  

If you could write one line that told your moment of BY FAITH that could go into a Hall of faith list what do you think it could be?

I thought of this idea in our community group last week as we studied Hebrews 11. I love that despite all that each of them did wrong in their lives the thing that God chose to have recorded in the Hall of Faith was their moment of choosing righteousness. 

Do you see the beauty in this? 

God does not see us in our mess or sin. He chooses to see us in our righteousness that has been made possible in Christ. He looks at us in who we are in Christ. Our moments of BY FAITH.

As Greg Rye and I drove home, I invited him to name his moment of BY FAITH or ours as a couple. He said, "Oh, Tara, I am a processor. I need to think on it."

God immediately gave me a few.

BY FAITH Greg believed God when ENRON collapsed that God had a plan in moving his family from Texas to Nebraska.

BY FAITH Greg and Tara believed God would give them children even when the doctors told them she would not be able to.

BY FAITH Greg and Tara continued to share Jesus even after losing it all in the floods of 98. 

BY FAITH when Grace University closed Tara started telling God stories and hasn't stopped trusting that God would provide her the right ministry opportunities.

BY FAITH Greg and Tara sold everything and bought a new house so they could move Papa, Mema, and Aunt Janie in with them. 

I have decided this is a really fun practice to do. In each of these moments, it was hard! Really hard! But we can look back and see our BY FAITH moments. 

It is in our BY FAITH moments that we are strengthened and encouraged. These are powerful reminders of God's work in us. They build hope in us. 

What is your BY FAITH moment? I would love to hear about them! 

BY FAITH...

Where does spiritual cleanliness come from?

Catching a theme or pattern can reveal deeper meaning.

Matthew 15 caught me this morning.

The religious leaders were complaining that Jesus' disciples didn't wash their hands before they ate.

Oh my goodness! They are so unclean! Or atleast that is the declared offense. 

Jesus points out it is not what goes in your mouth but what comes out.

As if to make Jesus' point clear, Matthew writes about two stories with bread to prove Jesus' point.

The first was a gentile woman begging for her daughter to be healed of a demon. Jesus at first didn’t listen because He was trying to reach the religious leaders. Jesus said, "It's not right to toss bread to dogs." She responded and said, "Even dogs eat crumbs from their master's table."

She knew where she needed to be fed even if it was a mere crumb. She recognized His power and authority. Her words revealed her faith in Him.

The second story to follow was Jesus feeding 4,000 at the Sea of Galilee. With an offering of 7 loaves and a few fish, Jesus enabled the disciples to feed 4,000 until they were satisfied.

I had to laugh. Crumbs on the floor and bread on the seashore would not lend to cleanliness of the hands! Ironically, the two stories that followed the religious leaders complaint of cleanliness almost embarrassingly showed that washing your hands was not the key.

The point is hunger for truth. The woman was willing to take crumbs if it meant her daughter was healed. She knew where the source of power and healing came from, the spoken words of Jesus. She was willing to seek Him and even beg Him for her daughter's healing.

The crowds hungered to hear Jesus teach. They gathered and listened even when it meant not physically eating for a long time. They knew the nourishment of listening and learning in order to understand. They knew where healing came from and wanted to take in more. Or if I dare say it, they wanted to "digest" Jesus' healing power and provision while listening.

The religious leaders weren't drawing near to Jesus to listen or understand. They were drawing near to condemn, complain, judge, etc.

What comes out of our mouths reveal what is inside! What we speak reveals if we are clean or unclean. It is pretty convicting for sure. 

The LORD cares more about our heart condition than anything else. He desires us to know the freedom of a heart washed clean and satisfied in Him.

Why I teach the 6 Acts of the Bible with motions

I was taken by surprise when I was asked, "Why did you teach that?" At first, I froze. I didn't know what to say because I wasn't expecting this kind of response. 

My silence gave room for more to be said, "This isn't new!" 

"You are right. This is not new. The Bible tells us, 'There is nothing new under the sun"( Eccles. 1:9). We are also "commanded to sing a new song" (96:1-3). This does not mean a new truth, but a new way. Each culture and each generation have a different way of communicating. It will never be the same, but the message always stays the same.

I created the 6 Acts of the Bible to help a group of women in an Asian context develop a basic metanarrative of the Bible. I discovered that their group loves to use the story in motions. I worked hard to take the entire Bible down to a simple outline that I could share simply, quickly, and it would be easily reproduced. 

The irony is I never got to teach it to them. Circumstances happened and we did not get together. I LOVE YOU MY DEARS AND I PRAY FOR YOU.

But God had a plan. I discovered that many of my partners worldwide love the story in motion, too. God opens doors weekly for me to share.

One leader in Africa this week told me that when he shared it in church the whole room went silent with anticipation. 

This morning a leader in South Asia told me that he and his team are discovering that this simple method makes the message clear. 

This is why I will teach this way. It opens people's hearts to hear the message of what God did through history clearly.

Is this dumbing down the gospel? NOT AT ALL! Quite the contrary. It is making people smarter. A good teacher will bring a truth down to the most irriducible part. Once the most basic truth is grasped then layers of knowledge will be added. It is through the layering of truth that greater depth can be grasped.

Please listen, share and teach so all can know how God has moved through history in their behalf. 

6 Acts of the Bible Story in Motion